By Michael Benjamin In September 1983, I enrolled for a place in the now defunct Guyana National Service (GNS) as a pioneer in the Joint Services Recruit and Orientation Course (JSROC) and was transported via MV Jaimitofrom the Kingston Wharf to Base Command Papaya (BCP), a few miles away from the infamous Jonestown commune. Other members of the other disciplined services also formed a part of the programme.Really, I was uninterested in a military career but nurtured ambitions to become a boxer. My decision to join the GNS boxing gym made it compulsory to engage in some military activities thus my trip to the Barima/Waini region on an initial six months training stint.Admittedly,Cheap Jerseys, despite my initial dread, I returned to Georgetown with improved military skills but still nurtured a deep seated ambition to enter the ‘square jungle.’It was during the first break, when my other ‘squaddies’ returned to their respective organizations that a senior officer, recognizing my propensity to be investigative, suggested that I switch institutions and opt for a career in policing.I passed up on the offer since as I mentioned earlier, my ambitions were riveted in ring, not jungle or civil warfare. Nevertheless, I remained interested in the vagaries of police work and my decision to become a journalist might have been hinged on the investigative propensities of the job.So it is with some amount of trepidation that I observed some members of the GPF as they addressed their duties and eventually concur that they are either poorly briefed of their respective responsibilities and duties or simply ignore them and adopt unorthodox dispositions in effecting them. I am wont to believe the latter theory since Inspector Green, who was a staff sergeant during my initial tenure in the GNS, conducts training sessions of the recruits.Many moons ago, as a little boy, I loved playing ‘Police and Thief’ a game involving a group of about 15 of us. The strongest in the group would perform the ritual of thumping each person in the chest. Those that laughed or emitted any sound were dubbed the ‘thieves’ while those that retained a serious disposition were the police officers.The ‘thieves’ would then leave for a destination nearby and commit a crime leaving certain telltale signs. The ‘officers’ would be required to ‘investigate’ using the ‘evidence’ left by the marauders to build a case and present to a judge after they would have completed investigations.Indeed, this was a fun game and no one actually realized that such activities were preparing us for a career vocation as lawmen. Some of the gang did go on to become police officers. One of them I distinctly remember, Raphael Clarke,Cheap NBA Store, became a fearsome detective but died later after it was rumored that an affected criminal had ‘gone to the obeah man for him’.Those were the days when guns were few and far and police officers wielded authority with a baton, yet commanded the respect of the entire community. Those were also the days when a policeman could have been seen escorting the very young as well as the elderly across the streets.Admittedly, criminal activities were mostly confined to stealing the neighbour’s fruits or a bicycle here and a few dollars there.Nowadays, with the advent of the internet and other technological devices, crime has become a scary vocation for law enforcement officers and governments across the world are required to allocate a huge chunk of the budget towards crime fighting strategies.While other developed countries are able to implement sophisticated devices to curtail criminal activities, local law enforcement officers are constrained by limited and sometimes archaic equipment that, when compared to the tools in the criminals’ hand, makes a mockery of their efforts.Some time around the late eighties while in Canada I learnt of the hidden road cameras that detected speeding on the roads, clicked the offending driver’s license plate and dispatched both photo and a ticket with a specified fine to the offending driver.At the end of the year, when that driver attempts to renew his documents but failed to pay his fines, he would be refused the opportunity until he complied. The police officers are very much aware of the defaulting drivers and their vehicles’ number compliments of computerized information just near the dashboard of all police vehicles.? Risk transgressing the law and you are dead!The recent decision by the government to install cameras at strategic points around the city may be decades late but is a welcome safety feature to commuters and other law abiding citizens conducting business or other vocations in Georgetown and its environs.However,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, the device could be rendered ineffective if manned by incompetent or dishonest staff. Maybe, the citizens could be

Historic paediatric open-heart operations are currently being done at the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) located in the Georgetown Public Hospital compound, and as a mark of appreciation, George Subraj,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, a US-based Guyanese businessman who contributed financially towards the operations as a philanthropic gesture to help the less fortunate,Cheap Jerseys From China, has presented awards to the deserving doctors and nurses at a simple ceremony at the Pegasus Hotel on Monday night.Receiving plaques in recognition of their sterling contribution towards the medical mission were Ingrid Hollinger and Tatyana Rozenthal (both Anesthesiologists) and Marihetta Africano Sabido (Intensive Care Nurse). Marihetta Africano Sabido (Intensive Care Nurse) receives a plaque from Minister within the Ministry of Health Dr. Bheri Ramsaran as Mr. George Subraj looks on. The other members of the medical team who will be duly recognized are:? Joanne Mora (Cardiologist), Shubhika Srivastava (Cardiologist), Sheel Vatsia (Surgeon), Jeanine Lutgen (Assistant Surgeon), Robert Stroud (Perfusionist/Heart Lung Machine),Cheap NFL Jerseys China, Trace Baker (Perfusionist/Heart lung machine), Colsie Elaine Myrie (Intensive Care Nurse), Marlene Kuanken Juanico (Intensive Care Nurse), Margie Enriquez Lutian (Intensive Care Nurse),Wholesale Jerseys USA, Maureen Fitzpatrick Gilroy (OR Scrub Tech).George Subraj was also instrumental in facilitating the first kidney transplant in Guyana, undertaken by Dr Rahul Jindal some two years ago at the Georgetown Public Hospital.The first transplant was successfully completed on July 12, 2008 on an 18-year-old Munesh Mangal of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara who received a kidney from his mother.Mangal was followed by former army major Winston George who received a kidney from his daughter in January 2009.Subraj is credited as the biggest private sector donor to the initiative, an undertaking he claims to have gladly done. In recognition of the fact that he came into the world with nothing and can take nothing upon his departure, Subraj said that he is willing to repeat his support.George Subraj said the medical team deserved to be honoured for their service.According to Minister within the Ministry of Health,Cheap Jerseys From China, Dr. Bheri Ramsaran, a plaque, and a token from the Ministry of Health was given to the medical team,NFL Jerseys From China, since the most of its members are first-time visitors to Guyana, and the response that was received will see them being involved in greater projects.He said the project has been running smoothly because of the support received by the private and public sector.